Store arrangement with coinoperated dispensing means



Deci. 8, 1953 H. A. TOULMIN, JR 2,661,504 OPERATED DISPENSING MEANS STORE ARRANGEMENT WITH COIN- F'iled March 10, 1950 INVENTOR HARRY A. TOULMIN Jr.

ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 8, 1953 STORE ARRANGEMENT WITH COIN :OPERATED DISPENSING MEANS Harry A. Toulmin, Jr., Dayton, Ohio, assignor to The "Commonwealth Engineering Company of Ohio, Dayton, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application-March 10, 1950, SerialNo. 148,993

'3'Claims. (Cl. 20-1.6)

..This invention relates to an arrangement for dispensing articles iof commerce such as are gen erally purchased in groceries, drug stores, and thelike.

The occasion many times arises when .it is desirable to make a purchase after the normal closing hours of -a store. In such cases it is :quite inconvenient to locate .the stores having other than standard hours, and inmost cases :where-storesof this nature are available, asub- :stantial overcharge for this additional service is made.

"With the foregoing -difiiculties in mind, the instant invention has as it primary object an arrangementadapted for incorporation with the usual type :grocery, drug store, or the like, by which :a variety of selected articles can readily he,purchased eventhough "the store is closed.

:It is another object of this invention to provide aimerchandising arrangement .for a grocery or drugstore or the like by means of which certainpopular items can be purchased without the f'necessity of :going into the store and awaiting service :as :is customary.

unistill further object of this :invention *is the provision f 2, simple 'coin operated dispensing arrangement thatcan be incorporated in astore, but which does :not materially detract from the normal merchandising space of the store.

tlh'esetand other 'objects and advantages will f'become more apparent 'upon reference to the .following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

1 aplan sectional 'view taken through a store arrangement according tolthis invention, as indicated by :line l-l on Figure 2;

Figure 2 is a vertical transverse section through the'store arrangement, as indicated by line 2-2 on Figure 1;

Figure '3 is a partial vertical section taken through one of the dispensing units according :to this invention, and is indicated by line '3-3 on Figure 1; and

Figure *4 is va diagrammatic :perspective view showingone arrangement :of the coin operated mechanism by means 0f which the articles can "beiobtained from the dispensing .units.

Referring to the drawingssomewhat more in detail, Figures 1 and 2 show a store comprising the merchandising space H) having a main entrance tZ, and-including about the floor various -'counters, shelf spaces, and other necessary devices for displaying merchandise, as indicated at I4.

According to this invention, one side of the store, inthis case, the side indicated at l5, Tfaces on a street or areaway including a sidewalk 1.8. The upper part of the store building overhangs sidewalk 18, as at 20, and extendingvertically downwardly from within the portion -20 of the store building through the bottom of the said extending portion 20 toward sidewalk 13 areaplurality of dispensing units 2 2.

Efachof these dispensing units is adapted for being filled'with asupply of articles of commerce which can be obtained by depositing .a coin in acoin operated device mounted at the TIOWGI end of the unit which will release a lever or other suitable mechanism, which can then be operated to deliver the article tothe purchaser.

The units'22 are open at the top andare adapted for being serviced by being filled with the particular items pertaining thereto from within the extended portion 20 of the store building, As indicated in Figures 1 and '2, a number of articles may be storedin this extended portion, as indicated at ,and these can readily be supplied to the units by a workman, as indicated at 26.

Inasmuch as most stores devote a'certain .portion to storage, the extended portion 2a of the building can readily be'connected, as by a stairway 28, with the storage space 30, which may be positioned to the rear of thebuilding, as indicated in Figure 1.

Each of the units 22 described above may advantageously include a glass panel in its outer face, as at 32, by means of which the items therein can readily be observedfrom the sidewalk l3. For convenience in .after-dark shopping, the

units-themselves may includeilluminatingmeans,

or there may be the lightingrarrangement as ,generally indicated at -34,extending along the bottom part of the extended portion 20 of the building and forwardly of the units 22 so as to illuminate tray 36 and that the items M :to be "dispensed by the unit are prevented from falling onto the delivery platform by a reel 38. Reel 38 is so arranged that on each ninety degrees of rotation thereof one item from the unit will be delivered to the delivery platform. Reel 38 is mounted on a shaft 40, and on reference to Figure 4, it will be noted that shaft 40 supports a ratchet wheel 42 adapted for engagement by a pawl 44. Pawl 44 is carried on the disk 46 mounted on a shaft 48, to which is connected a cam plate 50 that supports operating handle 52.

Cam plate 50 has a cam slot 54 therein engaged by a pin 56 on the end of a lever 58 pivoted at 60. Normally, lever 58 is so positioned that pin 56 prevents movement of plate 50. However, when a coin, as at 62, is deposited in coin chute 54, lever 53 is over-balanced and pulls pin 56 into position to permit movement of plate 50.

It will be evident that movement of plate 50 at this time will also move ratchet wheel 42 and reel 38 to bring about the delivery of an item to the delivery platform of the associated unit.

Cam slot 54 is so shaped that it will permit exactly ninety degrees of movement of plate 50 and will also move arm 58 far enough to release coin 62 so that it will fall in cash box 64. Thereafter,

when handle 52 is released, a torsion spring 66 will reset the mechanism preparatory to another coin being placed in the coin chute.

It will be understood that this invention is susceptible to modification in order to adapt it to diiferent usages and conditions, and, accordingly, it is desired to comprehend such modifications within this invention as may fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A store construction comprising a plurality of units for dispensing articles therefrom one at a time, said units being arranged along one side of said store and adjacent a walkway, a store room for storing articles to be dispensed from said units arranged parallel to said units and thereabove, said store room overhanging said units being spaced therefrom a height sufiicient to alloW customers using said units to walk therebeneath, said unit comprising a portion extending upwardly into said store room and communicating therewith, an opening in said extended portion for introducing articles into said unit to be dispensed therefrom, means comprising a coinoperated mechanism positioned on each of said units which is operable to deliver an article from said unit upon actuation thereof, said mechanism comprising a reel and cooperating lever, said lever being pivotably mounted between its opposite ends, a pin on the inner end of said lever, a

cam slot engaged by said pin, a coin chute arranged to cooperate with the outer end of said lever, said lever being arranged to swing about its pivot upon insertion of a coin in said chute, said reel being adapted to be advanced progressively through 90 intervals of rotation to dispense articles from said unit upon operation of said lever, a single article being dispensed upon each 90 rotation of said reel, a crank handle operatively connected to and operable upon insertion of a coin to permit rotation of said reel from one position through 90 rotation, and spring means on said lever adapted upon release of said crank handle to return to its original position and reset said coin operated mechanism for the next dispensing operation.

2. In a structure for dispensing articles by intermittent operation in response to a coinoperated mechanism, a dispensing unit comprising a vertically extending chute, a storage compartment thereabove for storing the articles to be dispensed from said unit and in communication with said chute, said chute having an opening in the upper portion thereof for introducing articles to be dispensed from said unit, means comprising a coin-operated mechanism positioned on said unit which is operable upon insertion of a coin to unlock said dispensing unit in order to deliver an article from said unit upon actuation thereof, said mechanism comprising a crank arm, a reel and cooperating lever and ratchet and pawl means, said reel being rotatable about a horizontal axis by said crank arm, said reel being positioned in the lower part of said chute, the axis of rotation of said reel bein at right angles to the vertical axis of said chute, said reel being divided into quarterly sections and operable upon insertion of a coin in said coin-operated mechanism to permit rotation of said reel from one position through whereby one quarter section of said reel is presented for the dispensing of an article disposed therein.

3. A store construction comprising a plurality of units for dispensing articles therefrom one at a time, said units being arranged along one side of said store construction, a storag compartment disposed above said units, said units comprising a vertically extended chute which is in communication with said storage compartment, said chute having an opening at the upper end for the introduction of articles to be dispensed below from said units, means comprising a coin-operated mechanism positioned on each of said units which is operable to deliver an article from'said unit upon actuation thereof, said coin actuated mechanism comprising a lever pivoted between its ends, a pin carried by said lever, a cam slot cooperating with said pin, a coin chute arranged to cooperate with one end of said lever, said lever being arranged to swing about its pivot upon insertion of a coin in said coin chute, a reel cooperating with said lever, said reel having arms extending at right angles to the axis of rotation thereof and defining a space therebetween for receiving single articles to be dispensed upon rotation of said reel, a crank arm cooperating with said reel and lever, said reel being adapted to be unlocked for rotation through a 90 are upon insertion of a coin in said coin chute and actuation of said lever, and means comprising a spring operated ratchet and pawl mechanism for returning said coin-operated mechanism to its original position whereby said mechanism is ready for the next dispensing operation.

HARRY A. TOULMIN, JR.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 728,774 Shaw May 19, 1903 769,063 Dougherty et al. Aug. 30, 1904 909,100 Linde et al. Jan. 5, 1909 1,145,458 Antoine et al. July 6, 1915 1,151,539 Grover et al Aug. 24, 1915 1,309,911 Pease July 15, 1919 1,345,499 Meyfarth July 6, 1920 1,773,885 Staley Aug. 26, 1930 1,839,480 Hochreim Jan. 5, 1932 1,839,617 Tiffany Jan. 5,1932 2,142,053 Hoban Dec. 27, 1938 2,353,002 Armbruster July 4, 1944 

